By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — It was a classic game of give-and-take Saturday afternoon when the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and Macalester men's basketball teams squared off at Leonard Center.
 
When the Cardinals gave, the Scots took.
 
And when the Scots gave, the Cardinals glad took.
 
Unfortunately, when the Scots, clinging to a one-point lead in the waning seconds, missed back-to-back free throws—and the Cardinals hauled in both rebounds—Saint Mary's could not take advantage missing its final three field goal attempts in dropping a heartbreaking 81-80 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference decision.
 
The Scots appeared to have the upper hand early in the first half, jumping out to a 7-2 lead, only to have Saint Mary's answer by scoring eight of the next 10 points for a brief, 10-9 advantage. From there Macalester took control, building its lead to as many as 12 twice—including 33-21 with 6:41 remaining in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Cardinals were unfazed by the 12-point deficit, rattling off 12 unanswered points—including eight from Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.)—to pull even with the Scots, 33-33. And Saint Mary's wasn't finished, getting back-to-back baskets from Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) and Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.) to take its biggest lead of the half, 45-42 with just over a minute to play.
 
The lead would not last, however, as Macalester scored the final four points of the half to take a one-point, 46-45 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
That half was nothing compared to what transpired over the game's final 20 minutes, when the teams combined for four ties and 18 lead changes—with neither team leading by more than six points.
 
After the fourth tie of the half, 76-76, the Cardinals grabbed leads of 78-76 and 80-79—the later on a pair of free throws by Anthony-Bello with 1:43 remaining. Macalester turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, but the Cardinals returned the favor and remained clinging to the one-point lead with 1:24 left on the clock.
 
Macalester missed a short jumper, but Daniel Neff hauled in the offensive rebound and was fouled. He missed both free throws, but again the Cardinals would not be able to capitalize, turning the ball over once again and Ian Joseph gave the Scots the 18^th and final lead change, 81-80, with 37 seconds to play.
 
Saint Mary's could not convert on its trip down the court, but this time it was the Scots would could not capitalize, missing the front end of the free throw bonus with 20 seconds to go. The Cardinals came up empty again—missing a field goal and an offensive put-back—and again, the Scots could not knock down the free throw.
 
This time, however, there as not enough time on the clock for the Cardinals to get off a good look, and the Scots held on for the win—and a sweep of their two games against Saint Mary's this season.
 
Anthony-Bello finished with a career-high 20 points for the Cardinals—scoring 10 points in each half—while Rosner chipped in 16 points. Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) and David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn.) also finished in double figures for Saint Mary's, netting 14 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Cardinals shot 50 percent from the field (31-for-62), including three 3-pointers, while adding a 15-for-21 showing from the free throw line. Macalester went 30-for-70 from the field (42.9 percent) and hit 7 of 23 3-pointers, while finishing 14-for-24 at the charity stripe.
 
Brett Olson and Jackson Henningfield each scored 17 points to pace the Scots (2-16 MIAC, 3-20 overall), with Neff and Tyler Seaberg each adding 10.
 
The Cardinals (0-18 MIAC, 1-22 overall) are back in conference play on Wednesday, as Saint Mary's heads to St. Thomas' Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Tommies.